1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an infrared roasting oven and, more particularly, is to an apparatus and process for cooking food items, particularly meats.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art, as best known to the inventor is represented by U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,857 (1982) to Best, entitled Infrared Gas Grill. The teaching of Best relates to a grill assembly primarily in the nature of a smoking system. Best differs from the instant invention in that it employs a process of open cooking, that is a grill-type system. Best, as a open air system, relies solely upon convection of heat for the cooking process, whereas the present invention, as more fully described below, employs a combination of convection and radiant infrared energy for the effective operation thereof. Accordingly, while Best and the instant invention make certain use of infrared heating, the respective invention otherwise have little relationship to each other.
Other prior art known to the inventor include U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,516 (1980) to Friedl entitled Barbecue Oven. The oven of Friedl, which is commercially marketed as the HART ROTISSERIE, does not employ a heat chamber notwithstanding its use in infrared burners therein, nor does it burn wood or any other solid fuel. Further, the system of Friedl exhausts gas and heat out of the top of the cooking cabinet, this in distinction to the herein described inventive structure which employs (as is more fully described below) a compressive high temperature heat chamber at the top of a cylindrical oven. Friedl, employing a square cabinet, is not able to make use of heating zones in the sense of this roasting oven.
Other prior art known to the inventor includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,756 (1988) to Van Marr, entitled Transportable Outdoor Barbecue Grill. The structure of Van Marr is that of an outdoor barbecue which allows all heat generated therein to escape out of a special purpose flue, thereby obviating the possibility of compressive heating in the sense of my system.
Further prior art known to the inventor is U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,540 (1993) to Riccio, entitled Cooking Apparatus With Rotisserie and Reclamation Trap. The teaching thereof is essentially that of an rotisserie oven in which the spit rotates at a greater rate than the drive member thereof. Also, Riccio employs a reclamation trap disposed beneath the spit to recover juices produced during the cooking of food therein.